Some motor vehicles may comprise an embedded computer system referred to as a head unit or telematics unit. The head unit may provide a variety of operational features including providing centralized access to vehicle sensors and electro-mechanical devices via a controller area network (CAN) communication bus. The head units may be communicatively coupled to a wireless network, and information available to the head unit may be accessed remotely via wireless communication link. This capability may be useful in transportation industries for fleet management and maintenance. This capability may make automobile maintenance and troubleshooting easier for car dealerships and/or independent auto repair shops.
Some head units may provide wireless communication services for drivers and/or passengers of the vehicle, for example data communication links to the Internet to enable access to web applications and/or to surf the web while riding in the vehicle. The head units may also provide the ability for authorized individuals (e.g., an owner of the vehicle or proxy of the owner of the vehicle) to employ an application executing on a user equipment (UE) or mobile phone to initiate remote vehicle operations via the head unit data communication link. For example, an authenticated user may initiate a remote door unlock from a UE that propagates over a communication path from the UE to the head unit, and the head unit may command a door lock of the vehicle to unlock over a CAN bus of the vehicle.